How I Survived the Irish Famine: The Journal of Mary O'Flynn

How I Survived the Irish Famine: The Journal of Mary O'Flynn by Wilson, Laura. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780717131501.

A fictionalized account of one familys survival of the Irish famine. Told through the eyes of 12-year-old Mary OFlynn, the story begins in the summer of 1845 when the OFlynns entire potato crop is destroyed by the blight. In the increasingly desperate times that follow, the family struggles to survive, finally gaining passage on one of the over-crowded "Coffin" ships bound for North America. Here they begin the process of rebuilding their lives on into adulthood. Original color photography of artifacts and interiors helps to convey the drama of the OFlynns struggle to survive and, together with Marys journal entries aims to create a moving account of a critical period in the history of Ireland.